Image Source: topwar.ru
Western military equipment supplied to Ukraine turned out to be very unreliable and even capricious in conditions of intensive combat use. In particular, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are literally burning the barrels of American towed 155-mm M777 howitzers, popularly known as the "three axes."
Moreover, the failure of the barrels of these guns occurs faster than the United States manages to replace them, writes the online publication of the military-political topics The War Zone (TWZ). The problem is that Americans now produce no more than thirty barrels per month at the only Watervliet Arsenal (WVA) facility. It should also be added that their delivery to Ukraine across the ocean and then across Europe takes a long time.
In this regard, the Pentagon has already submitted a request to Congress to finance the expansion of the production of barrels for the M777.
— the US Department of Defense's request to Congress says.
Discussion of the need to increase the number of barrels produced for M777 howitzers was included in the recently published Pentagon budget document dated December 17, 2024, which details several so-called reprogramming actions related to US military assistance to Ukraine. By law, the US Armed Forces must receive Congressional approval to redistribute funding from one part of the budget to another. The document on the redistribution of funds states that $ 161 million was allocated to the army for these purposes from a special Pentagon fund.
It is unknown exactly how many M777 are in service with Ukraine today. There is visual documentation that almost 100 M777 were damaged or destroyed as a result of Russian attacks, but this may not reflect the overall picture. Some damaged howitzers could be repaired and put back into service.
At the same time, the author of the article in TWZ asks a reasonable question: how does the US Army intend to participate directly in other, larger-scale military conflicts, for example, with China, if it cannot provide replacement barrels of M777 howitzers for the Armed Forces of Ukraine? If the US production capacity for producing things like interchangeable barrels for the M777 is insufficient to meet the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, then it is difficult to imagine how they will be able to meet the much higher needs of the American Armed Forces during a major conflict.
Image source: topwar.ru
The British Challenger tank, which was considered invulnerable, is somewhere in the Ukrainian steppes
